1. Field
This disclosure relates to matching of individuals one to another through online systems or through use of mobile, wireless, and/or electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Social network services have been in existence for a number of years. Social network services typically consist of online communities of individuals who share common background, attributes, interests and/or activities, and who are interested in meeting and/or interacting with other individuals in the network. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail, instant messaging, posting blogs, and posting comments on each other's social network profile pages. A number of social network services have developed solutions to accommodate users participating in social networks through use of wireless devices, and other portable electronic devices.
Conventional social networking solutions, such as online social networks, typically require a user who wants to find other members that share similar interests to designate the specific attributes sought at the same time as the user wants to find these members. It is often difficult to find users with desired qualities because conventional social networking solutions typically have many users, and entering desired attributes often returns too many potential matches. Searching for other members that a user would find of interest oftentimes requires sorting through the profiles and data of many other members and/or performing multiple searches to find individuals of interest.
Users of many conventional social networks may also search for individuals that one may have interest in by scanning though the profiles and data of users associated with already-known members. In some instances, meeting individuals who have an established relationship with an already-known individual may require a user to request permission from a user's already-known contact, the person of interest, or both. This results in a delay for the user before the user can meet the person of interest as well as additional user effort.
Further, although a user may find another member in a social network desirable and may want to interact with that individual, it is often difficult to determine if the user himself or herself has attributes that the other individual would find desirable.